Position: Defensive Tackle
Years: 1969-1971
Place of Birth: Toledo, OH
Date of Birth: Nov 22, 1946
Jersey Number: 77
Height: 6-1
Weight: 230
High School: Toledo, OH (Macomber HS)
Mel Long entered the University of Toledo as a Vietnam War veteran after serving with the Marines and earning numerous combat decorations. He left the Rockets with a reputation as the greatest lineman in the history of the Mid-American Conference. He stood 6-1, weighed 230, and played defensive tackle.
Toledo won the conference all three years during his time in the Glass Bowl. The 1969 team went 11-0 and beat Davidson 56-35 in the Tangerine Bowl. In 1970, the record was 12-0 with a victory over William and Mary 40-22 in the Tangerine Bowl. And in 1971, it was 12-0 (giving Toledo a 35-0 record for three years) and victory over Richmond (28-3) in the Tangerine Bowl. Toledo led the nation in defensive statistics all three years and finished with a top-20 ranking each season. He played two years for Frank Lauterbur and one for John Murphy, serving as tri-captain of the 1971 team that concluded the famous 35-game unbeaten, untied streak.
Long was Newspaper Enterprise Association First Team All-American, AP Second Team All-American and Central Press All-American in 1970. The following year In 1971, he earned First Team honors from AP, UPI, NEA, Football Writers Association and several others, making him the first consensus All-American in Mid-American Conference history.
He was MAC "Defensive Player of the Year" in 1971 and a three-time, First Team All-Mid-American Conference selection from 1969-71. He played in the All-America Bowl Game in Tampa. He was inducted into the University of Toledo Varsity T Hall of Fame in 1982. He was voted the No. 4 all-time player on Toledo's All-Century Football Team in 2017, and his No. 77 jersey has been retired.
Long was drafted by Cleveland in the 1972 NFL Draft and spent the 1972-75 seasons with the Browns. After his playing days he worked as foreman in an oil refinery.
